Chesterfield plant sale helps grow a love of learning

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- The Chesterfield County Public Schools plant sale is one way to grow a love of learning.

"This is an annual event. Annual event selling annual plants, how about that," Chesterfield Career and Technical Center principal Brian Russell said.

Student-grown vegetables, herbs, annuals, perennials, and native plants were sold recently at the Chesterfield Career and Technical Center. The money raised goes to fund school nutrition programs, the clinical arts department, and even helps food banks.

But the students learn a lot more than how to grow plants.

"We do plant math for instance. They had to figure out the amount of soil and the cost of soil per every pot," Urban Ag science teacher Trista Gribsby said. "They see that math is not a thing you learn just in math class. You're going to use that for the rest of your life."

Student Charles Tomlin called Mrs. Grigsby a very good teacher.

"We learned a lot about native plants. And not just plants. We learned about soils. We learned about the environment and how we affect the environment. It's very interesting," he said.

"We're developing students who are ready for careers that don't even exist yet," Grigsby said. "We want them to be ready for feeding a growing population. By 2050, the population is estimated to be 10 billion people. How are we going to feed them all?"

These students are learning how by building their knowledge of plants and produce while building better minds.